July 1, 2003
A: FROM MENTOR MOLLY WILLIAMS IN MI
Sharmilla, here's a short answer and a lthen a onger one:
US News and World Report magazine does rankings for educational
programs at US colleges and universities. The engineering section
is at this URL:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankengineering_brief.php
You have the opportunity to select either predominantly
undergraduate institutions or more comprehensive graduate and
research institutions.

However ... (Here's the longer answer.) These US News rankings are
largely popularity contests based on responses from college
administrators across the country. The ratings are strongly
influenced by how conspicuous the institution is. There are some
fine academic programs at institutions that are not widely known,
and you should still consider colleges that are not at the top of
the US News list.

The agency that accredits engineering programs maintains a list of
engineering programs that meet their standards for professional
preparation of engineers. All of the institutions on their list can
give you the preparation needed for a career in engineering. There
are over 300 institutions with accredited engineering programs. See
this URL:
http://www.abet.org/accredited_programs/engineering/search_engineering_programs.asp

You will be able to search by engineering discipline and by
geographic region or state. I encourage you to look both at large
and small, or public and private institutions. They all have their
own characteristics, and you have to decide what seems like the most
comfortable environment for you.

Good luck! Finding the right college is a really important
decision.